Here’s the full 1,500-word Chapter 1 of Ridiculous:

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  Chapter 1: The Best Day Ever

  The morning sun stretched across the small town of Hawthorne, painting the sky in hues of gold and orange. It was the kind of morning that made Jamie Carter believe nothing could go wrong. He rolled out of bed, his messy brown hair sticking out in all directions, and grinned at the day ahead.

  Today was going to be perfect.

  Jamie had been planning this for weeks. It was April 15, the day he and his best friends—Liam, Jordan, and Mel—had declared "The Best Day Ever." No school, no responsibilities, just one ridiculous adventure after another. A tradition they’d started two years ago, and one they took very seriously.

  He pulled on his favorite ripped jeans, an oversized band T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers that had seen better days. His room was a disaster—clothes draped over his desk, an old cassette player sitting on top of a pile of notebooks, and his backpack tossed carelessly in the corner.

  Downstairs, his mom was already busy in the kitchen, her radio playing a soft tune as she poured coffee into her mug.

  "Skipping school again, Jamie?" she asked without turning around.

  "It’s a holiday," he said, stealing a piece of toast from the counter.

  "For who?"

  "For us."

  She sighed but didn’t argue. Jamie had always been the wild one, the one who got away with things because he had a way of making even trouble sound charming.

  "Be careful," she said instead, ruffling his hair as he bolted out the door.

  The world outside was alive with the sounds of the 90s—distant music from a passing car, the hum of a lawnmower, the chatter of kids riding their bikes down the street. Jamie breathed it all in.

  Today was going to be legendary.

  ---

  The meeting spot was always the same: the abandoned train station just beyond the edge of town. The tracks had been rusting there for years, covered in graffiti, forgotten by time.

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  Jamie was the last to arrive.

  "Took you long enough," Liam called, tossing a small rock at Jamie’s feet.

  Jordan, the tallest of the group, leaned against the rusted railing, a lollipop hanging from his lips. "Did you bring it?"

  Jamie grinned, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

  The List.

  Every year, they came up with five ridiculous things they had to do before the sun set. Last year, they’d snuck into a movie theater, convinced a stranger that Jordan was a celebrity, and dared Mel to climb the town’s tallest water tower (she did, of course).

  This year’s list was even better.

  1. Steal something (nothing major, just for the thrill).

  2. Get a picture with the town’s mayor.

  3. Break into the old carnival grounds.

  4. Pull the ultimate prank on Mr. Dawson (their least favorite teacher).

  5. End the day on the highest rooftop in town.

  Mel snatched the list from Jamie’s hand. "This is ridiculous."

  "Exactly."

  She shook her head but smiled. "Fine. Let’s do it."

  They had no idea that by the end of the day, everything would change.

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  Item #1: Steal Something

  "Okay, rule number one," Jordan said as they walked down Main Street. "No stealing from nice people."

  "Or stealing anything expensive," Mel added.

  "Or anything that actually matters," Liam finished.

  "Got it," Jamie said. "So, something small, dumb, and easy."

  They stopped in front of Sam’s Corner Store. The tiny shop had been there forever, run by old Mr. Samuels, who never seemed to care what kids did as long as they didn’t break anything.

  "This is the one," Jamie said, grinning. "Who’s up?"

  They all looked at each other.

  "Not it," Liam said immediately.

  "Not it," Jordan added.

  Mel sighed. "Fine. I’ll do it."

  She walked inside, the bell jingling above the door. The boys waited outside, pretending to be interested in the comics displayed in the window. A few minutes later, Mel strolled out, her face completely neutral.

  Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

  She pulled something from her jacket pocket and held it up.

  A single peppermint candy.

  They all burst out laughing.

  "Seriously?" Jordan said. "A peppermint?"

  "It still counts," Mel said, popping it in her mouth. "And technically, I stole it before I paid for my gum. So, there."

  "That was weak," Liam said.

  "Whatever," Mel said. "Next on the list?"

  ---

  Item #2: Get a Picture with the Mayor

  "Are we actually doing this?" Liam asked as they stood outside Town Hall.

  Jamie nodded. "Of course. You don’t back out of The List."

  The mayor, a serious-looking man in his late forties, was speaking to a group of people near the entrance. He was always busy, always formal, and definitely not the type of person who took pictures with random teenagers.

  "Okay, new plan," Jamie said. "We distract him, then Mel sneaks a picture."

  "Why is it always me?" Mel asked.

  "Because you’re the fastest," Jamie said.

  Jordan grinned. "And you’re the least likely to get arrested."

  Mel rolled her eyes but nodded. "Fine. Let’s do it."

  Jamie took a deep breath, marched straight up to the mayor, and threw out his best innocent smile.

  "Excuse me, sir, but do you believe pineapple belongs on pizza?"

  The mayor blinked. "Excuse me?"

  "It’s an important question," Jamie said. "We’re conducting a survey."

  As the mayor hesitated, clearly confused, Mel stepped forward, phone in hand. She snapped a quick photo before slipping away.

  "Uh… no comment," the mayor finally said.

  "Fair enough," Jamie said. "Have a nice day!"

  He turned and walked away, trying not to laugh.

  "Got it?" he whispered to Mel.

  She held up her phone. "Got it."

  "Next!"

  ---

  Item #3: Break Into the Old Carnival Grounds

  By late afternoon, the group stood outside the rusting gates of the old carnival, abandoned for years. Weeds grew through cracks in the pavement, and faded posters peeled from the walls.

  "You know this place is haunted, right?" Liam said.

  "It’s not haunted," Jamie said.

  Jordan smirked. "Only one way to find out."

  They climbed over the fence, landing in the overgrown grass. The air smelled of dust and forgotten memories.

  The orphanage smelled of damp wood and soap. Its halls echoed with the laughter of children who had learned to find joy in the smallest of things—jumping rope, tracing shapes in the frost on the windows, or building castles out of battered toys. For Blossom, it was a world she knew too well, a world that had shaped her but never fully claimed her heart.

  Blossom had lived at the orphanage for as long as she could remember. To the staff, she was a polite, quiet girl who rarely caused trouble. To the other children, she was the one who would share her bread or tell a story at bedtime, her soft voice weaving magic in the dim light of their shared room. But in the solitude of her small cot by the window, Blossom carried a secret longing that no one else could see—a yearning for something more, for someone who would look at her and call her “daughter.”

  Every morning, as the sunlight crept into the dormitory, Blossom would sit on the windowsill and gaze at the garden below. She often wondered what it would feel like to run through the grass without a care, to have someone call her name from the kitchen, to belong somewhere. She had seen it happen so many times before. Families would visit the orphanage, their eyes scanning the room, their smiles warm but searching. Children would line up, their hair neatly combed, their hands clasped together, each one silently pleading, Pick me. Please, pick me.

  Blossom had been in those lines before, her small frame stiff with nervousness, her heart racing with hope. But the families never stopped for her. They’d choose a younger child, one with wide eyes and chubby cheeks, or someone livelier, someone who didn’t blend so easily into the background. Each time, Blossom would swallow her disappointment, retreating to her spot by the window and pretending she didn’t care.

  But she did care. She cared more than she ever let on.

  Her only solace came in the form of Ms. Beatrice, the head caretaker, who would sit with her on the porch in the evenings. “Your family will find you one day, Blossom,” Ms. Beatrice would say, her voice a mixture of hope and weariness. “You’re special, even if the world takes a while to see it.”

  Blossom wanted to believe her, but as the years passed, it became harder to hold on to that hope. She watched as children came and went, their faces lighting up with joy as they left hand-in-hand with their new parents. Each goodbye was a reminder that she was still here, still waiting.

  Sometimes, late at night, she would pull out her sketchbook—a gift from a kind volunteer years ago—and draw what she imagined her family might look like. A mother with kind eyes and a gentle smile. A father with strong arms to lift her off the ground. Maybe even a sibling to share secrets with. She’d draw them standing in front of a small house with a garden, their faces glowing with happiness.

  In her heart, Blossom clung to the belief that her family was out there, somewhere, looking for her. She didn’t know that the day they finally came, it wouldn’t be at all what she had dreamed. It would be the beginning of a journey that would test every part of her, a journey that would change her life forever.

  For now, though, she remained at the orphanage, waiting, dreaming, and hoping. The walls around her were sturdy, the routine familiar, but deep down, Blossom knew this wasn’t home. Not yet.

  "Okay," Mel said. "We’re in. Now what?"

  Before Jamie could answer, a loud BANG echoed across the carnival grounds.

  They froze.

  "What was that?" Liam whispered.

  Jamie’s heart pounded. It could have been anything—a door slamming in the wind, an animal knocking something over… but suddenly, the day didn’t feel so ridiculous anymore.

  "Maybe we should go," Mel said.

  For the first time that day, Jamie agreed.